Best Friends Forever?
by cynthiamonica
Summary: This is a collaboration I'm doing with eleven19, writing for the same prompt: Killian and Neal have been best friends since childhood and nothing has ever come between them...until Emma Swan showed up on their doorstep. Check out hers, titled: "We Good, Bro?"
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: eleven19 and I write our own version of this promp so make sure to check out her version too! please leave a review and enjoy the first chapter!**

* * *

"I'm just saying that if we would be fairy-tale characters I would definitely be Captain Hook," Killian said to Neal as they walked back to their apartment from the pizza place.

"But why Captain Hook? You look more like a prince than a pirate if you ask me," Neal said. They had been friends since they were kids. They went to the same school, shared a dorm later in collage and now they share a apartment. Nothing could separate them. And tonight was one of their traditional pizza-movie nights, this time Neal got to choose the pizza and Killian the movie.

"I don't really see myself becoming a ruler of an kingdom one day. Plus, I like the open seas and the freedom you get when you sail," Killian shrugged. "And Hook has always been my favourite Disney character."

"What about Peter Pan?"

"That little imp takes children away from their families, why would I like him?"

Neal shrugged. "I don't know, everyone seems to like him. I never liked him either." They walked into the building of their apartment. "Who do you think I would be?" Neal asked.

"Honestly, if Rumpelstiltskin had a son, that would be you." They both laughed as they got into the elevator.

"I know my father is a bit… creepy, but Rumpelstiltskin?" Neal said when his laugh calmed down a bit. The doors were about to close when a unfamiliar voice called to them.

"Wait!"

Killian put his hand between the doors so that they would open again. A blond woman stepped in the elevator. "Thanks," she said with a smile and both Neal and Killian froze. She didn't seem to notice their reaction as she just turned around, waiting for the doors to close again. She was beautiful. With her red leather jacket, blond hair and green sparkling eyes. Neal shook his head and put on an easy smile.

"Uhm… excuse me?" he said and she turned to look at him. "Are you new here?"

"Oh, yeah. Just moved in today," she said. When he didn't say anything else and just kept staring she turned back to face the now closed doors.

There was an awkward silence for a moment before the doors opened again and they walked out of the elevator. She walked over to the door of the apartment next to theirs. Killian leaned against the wall next to their door, facing her while Neal opened the door behind him.

"It looks like we are neighbours, love," Killian said and smirked at her.

"Indeed it does," she said without looking at him and opened her door, but just before she disappeared inside he called after her.

"I didn't catch your name!"

"That's because I didn't give it!" she called back and closed the door. He turned back to his friend and bit his lip.

"I like her," he admitted and Neal snorted and walked inside. "What?"

"You _like_ every woman," he said, placing the pizza box on their coffee table and removing his jacket. Killian did the same and sat down on his side of the couch.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Neal shrugged. "You flirt with every woman you see."

"So?"

"When was the last time you had a serious relationship?" Killian was silent for a moment before looking back at Neal.

"When was the last time you had one," he asked and raised an eyebrow.

"You remember Tamara, right?"

Killian made a face of disgust. "Never liked her, she was always so mysterious and bossy."

"Now I agree but back then I didn't see that," he said while walking over to the fridge, grabbing two beers. "Something you wouldn't understand since you've never been in love."

"Maybe I'm just waiting for the right one," Killian said and took the beer Neal handed him. Neal sat down beside him and looked at him with his brows raised.

"And you think our new neighbour is 'the right one'?" he asked and took a sip of his beer.

"Maybe, she has something," Killian said, taking a sip of his own beer.

"And what if I like her too?" Killian looked at him with an raised eyebrow.

"Do you?"

He shrugged again. "Like you said, she has something."

Killian nodded and sat his beer on the coffee table, opening the pizza box and grabbing the remote. He zapped through the different movies on Netflix. "Have you seen _American sniper_ yet?"

"No, I haven't," he leaned over to grab a slice of pizza. "but we're just going to drop the whole 'we both like our new neighbour' thing?"

"It's pizza-movie night, no thoughts of women allowed," Killian smiled at him before turning on the movie and grabbing a slice himself.

"Alright," Neal said, sitting back and taking a bite from his slice. And although they both agreed to not think about women that night they could hardly focus on the movie because their minds drifted more than often off the a certain blond next door.

* * *

Emma leaned against the door. _What the hell?_ She just broke up with her boyfriend, moved out, and guess what? Her new neighbours are two freaking hot guys. Why was this happening to her? Why now? She shook her head and walked into her still empty apartment. She had more important things to focus on right now. Her furniture would be brought tomorrow so the only things that were in the apartment were an air mattress, a blanked and a pillow. She sighed and walked over to the still flat air mattress and got an electric pomp out of her bag. She plugged it in and blew up her mattress. When she was done she felt her stomach rumble and remembered the delicious smell of the pizza those guys had.

She sat down on her mattress, grabbing her laptop out of her bag and opened it. She searched for a pizza place near her building. When she found one, just around the block, she placed an order. After her order was placed she changed into sweats and sat down again on her air mattress, leaned back against the wall and scrolled through Facebook while she waited.

20 minutes later someone knocked on her door. She put her laptop away and grabbed her wallet, walking over to the door. When she opened it she saw the last thing she expected.

"Ordered a pizza, love?" the one with the accent said as he leaned against her doorframe, holding the pizza box.

"The delivery guy brought it to wrong door," the other said, leaning against the other side of the doorframe with a smirk. "Since we haven't been properly introduced," he extended his hand. "Neal Cassady."

Emma looked at his hand before she took it and shook it. Before she could say her own name the other guy also extended his hand and said with a smile, "Killian Jones." She also took his hand but instead of shaking it he brought it to his mouth, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles that send a shiver down her spine.

"Uhm… Emma Swan," she said as she took her hand back, still looking at Killian's too blue eyes.

"Emma…" said Neal.

"…Swan," Killian finished and they both grinned at her, making her blush a little.

"Yeah, well, thanks for bringing the pizza. How much was it?" she asked as she opened her wallet, trying to focus on that instead of the two too handsome to be real guys leaning against her doorframe.

"No, no," Neal said and she looked questioning up at him. He just smirked. "You don't have to pay us back. See it as a 'welcome to the building' gift."

"Oh, well, thank you," she said and grabbed the box as Killian handed it over to her.

"You're welcome, love," he said and winked at her. "Enjoy it."

With that they both turned and walked back to their apartment, leaving her a little stunned in the doorway. She slowly closed the door and walked back to her mattress, trying to proses what just happened. _What the hell did just happen?_


	2. Chapter 2

Killian heard a booming sound and slowly opened his eyes. He grabbed his phone to look at the time and groaned when he saw that is was 7:08 in the morning. _Who the hell makes so much noise on a Sunday morning?_ He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stepped lazily out of bed. Yawning he walked out of his room and into the living room where he saw Neal peeking through their spyhole at the front door.

"What are you doing?" Killian asked him and brushed his hand through his hair a few times. Neal didn't even turn when he spoke.

"Emma, our new neighbour, is getting her furniture delivered."

"That still doesn't answer my question." Neal sighed and moved away from the spyhole.

"Look for yourself," he said and motioned Killian to stand on the spot where he was before. With a bit of hesitation he looked through the spyhole and he understood very well why Neal was looking through it. On the other side of the door was Emma, wearing a tank top and wearing her hair in a ponytail. She was carrying big boxes from next to the elevator to her apartment. The boxes looked heavy but she barely struggled. The tensed muscles in her arms did weird things with his body and gave him a feeling he never felt before. He licked his lips as he saw her walk back into her apartment with a big box.

He moved back and was about to open the door but Neal stopped him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to offer my help, what else?"

"Why would you do that?"

"Why not?" Killian asked him confused.

"She would be done faster and disappear in her apartment again," Neal said.

"Or, she would appreciate the help and ask us to come inside," Killian said and crossed his arms.

Neal was quiet for a moment, thinking. When he looked back up he smiled at his friend and clapped him on the shoulder. "Bro, you're a genius."

Killian laughed. "Took you a while to notice." Neal punched him lightly in the shoulder and opened the door. Emma was bend over and was about to pick up a box when she looked over at them, giving them a perfect view of her behind. Killian was lost at words for a moment and when he glanced over to Neal he saw that he was probably too. She straitened up again and turned fully to them.

"Are you going to keep staring at my ass or…?" she asked and crossed her arms. Killian swallowed and laughed a bit nervous while he scratched behind his ear.

"Sorry, love. We just wanted to ask you if you need any help with those boxes." When he noticed Neal was still a bit dazed he nudged him with his elbow. That seemed to snap him out of it.

"Yeah, those boxes look heavy," he said and smiled before adding quickly, "Not that you can't carry them on your own."

She smiled at them. "That would be great if you two could help me, my back is killing me from lifting too much," she said and let out a sighed while trying to stretch her back with her arms above her head. Killian sucked in a breath, he heard Neal do the same beside him. "Again, are you two going to keep staring or actually going to help?" she asked them with raised brows as she dropped her arms again. Killian shook his head and grinned at her, Neal just nodded and moved to grab a box. Their eyes lingered on each other for a few more seconds before they looked way and also grabbed a box.

After they moved everything inside Killian looked around the room while Neal sat down on a box and Emma walked over to the kitchen.

"It's pretty empty," he said when she came back with three beers in her hands.

"Yeah, that's why the boxes with my stuff and new furniture are now inside instead of next to the elevator," she said and gave him a beer. She walked over to Neal and handed him one too. "Are you guys going to stay long because I really need to get everything set up and I wanted to start as soon as the boxes were inside."

"We could help you with setting everything up," Neal said and sipped his beer. Emma raised an eyebrow at him.

"Really? What do you want in return?" she asked them suspiciously. When they gave her a blank look she continued. "There is always something guys like you want in return."

Killian chuckled and waved his hand. "I assure you, Swan. The only thing we want from you is your lovely company while we help you settle in."

He looked over to Neal and he nodded. Emma looked a bit stunned but recovered fast and walked over to one of the biggest boxes and smiled at them. "Well then, you could start helping me with the couch."

* * *

Maybe she was enjoying this a little too much. The couch was easy, just like the coffee table, the dinner table and chairs. But what wasn't that easy was her new bed. She bit her lip as she observed the two hot guys in her new apartment trying to figure out how to put this thing together. They would start putting the bed together while she unpacked the boxes with her belongings. Those weren't much so she was done in a matter of seconds.

She was currently leaning against the doorframe of her bedroom and watching them trying to figure out what the instructions said. They hadn't noticed her yet and she didn't want to announce her presents just yet.

"Why are these bloody so difficult?" Killian said frustrated and ran his hand through his hair.

"Don't ask me, I didn't make them," Neal said while looking puzzled at the instructions. "Screw A1 goes in hole B1 and attaches plank C5 to…"

"Can't we just ask her to use ours and send this back?"

At this Emma stepped into the room and sat down between them. "How's it going?" she asked like she just got here.

"Not really good," Neal sighed and placed the instructions on the ground. Both Killian and Neal's stomach began to rumble and she felt herself getting a bit hungry too.

"Why don't we set this aside for now and get something to eat," she suggested. She saw their eyes lit up and they both got on their feet, extending a for her to take on both sides. She laughed and took them both and they hauled her up.

"What do you say if we show you our favourite place for lunch?" Neal said.

She looked between them. _Where did these guys come from?_ They were… perfect. They helped her with setting up her furniture and settling in and now they asked her to join them to lunch at their favourite lunch place. She suggested getting something to eat but she expected that they would just order a pizza or that they expected her to prepare lunch for them since they were helping her. If she met them a years ago she would probably have dated one of them, if not both. But now… now she was trying to get over a heartbreak on her own and although the distraction Killian and Neal gave her was nice, she wasn't ready for opening up to someone again anytime soon, let alone date.

Then she remembered why guys do stuff like this, especially good looking ones like themselves. They probably saw that she felt lost and thought she was an easy target. Her smile faded at the thought. She read about people like that. They would buy her stuff and help her with everything and in the end she had to pay everything back in one way or another. She had been stupid to accept their offers. Stupid, stupid, stupid…

"Uhm… I just remembered something I have to do," she said a bit hesitating. "Maybe another time."

Both their smiles faded. "Of course, love," Killian said and she saw disappointment flicker in both their eyes. She felt a bit of guilt rise up inside her but ignored it, _they don't really like you_. She tried to remind herself but it felt like a lie. But the risk was just too big and even if they weren't like that she didn't want to get into a relationship right now, probably never again.

The three of them walked to her door and when they were outside her apartment they turned to her.

"Thank you again for the help," she said and smiled at them.

"It was nothing," Neal said. "If you need anything you know where to find us."

"I do hope we see each other soon again," Killian said with a smirk.

"Yeah," she breathed. _Why were they so perfect?_ She bit her lip and looked down. They didn't like her, she reminded herself. Why would they like a broken lost girl when there are enough women out there who aren't broken, who don't have trust issues and who are not afraid to open up?

"Until next time, Emma," Neal said with a nod and headed back to his apartment. Killian, however, just stood there like he wanted to say something but couldn't get it out. After a while he just shook his head and looked her in the eye, grabbing her hand.

"See you soon, Swan," he said and placed a feathered kiss on her knuckles. She felt heat rise to her face and a shiver ran down her spine when he didn't break eye contact while placing the kiss. And just like that he was gone again. She closer her door and moved over to the couch, grabbing a pillow and screaming into it. Why can't she just have a normal life like everyone else?

* * *

"That was weird," Neal said when Killian closed the door behind him.

"What do you mean?" Killian asked him confused.

"Well, she first asks us to grab lunch and then she just takes it back."

"Why is that so weird?"

"Why isn't it?"

Killian shrugged. "She's just scared."

Neal looked at him puzzled. "Why would she be scared?"

"She doesn't know us and the look on her face when we first met her was… I don't know how to explain it. She looked broken," he explained.

"How would you know how a broken person looks?" Neal asked him a bit in disbelieve. He understood why he wouldn't get it or didn't see it himself. Although it was true that they have been best friends for years there are still some things that Killian never told him. Sometimes he would feel guilty about it but he just couldn't tell him because he just wouldn't understand. He shared everything with Neal but one thing he kept hidden from him and everyone else. And that part of his life that no one knew but himself made him understand Emma. She's just like him, she shares the same look he had mastered hiding.

He shrugged again. "I just can read people well." It wasn't a complete lie, he could read her, like an open book. But not everyone. In a way, he felt connected to her. Like Neal said yesterday, he never got into a serious relationship after what had happened. But at the sight of Emma he thought that he maybe could try again, that it had been long enough.

"Do you think I should ask her out?" Neal asked and he felt his stomach drop a bit. He walked over to the couch and sat down.

"Yeah, why not?" he said, trying not to sound too annoyed.

"Is that okay with you? You said you liked her too –"

"No, it's okay, really." He smiled at Neal. Yes he liked Emma too, yes he wanted to ask her out too but he also wanted his best friend to be happy. Ever since his breakup with Tamara he hadn't been himself, now he jokes about it but Killian knows the wound she left is still painful. Emma seemed to heal the wound and if she can do that for him he would gladly step aside. Even if it meant that he wouldn't have a chance with her himself.

"Thanks, bro," Neal said with a bright grin that made it easier for Killian to indeed step aside. "Are we going to Granny's or should I get us some?"

"Could you get us some, I want to take a shower."

"Sure, I'll be back in a bit," he said and put on his jacked and shoes. He closed the door behind him and Killian sighed to himself. No matter how much he wanted to get to know Emma more and heal what is broken inside her, he also wanted his best friend happy and he was sure that Neal could heal does wounds too.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you all for reading! please leave a review with your thought about this story. Also don't forget to check out eleven19 version of this story 'We Good, Bro?' (and her other stories of course) ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a week since Emma moved in. Neal tried to talk to her a few times but it looked like she was avoiding them. She didn't say more than she had to and most of the time she just ignored them. This frustrated Neal a bit but it looked like it didn't bother Killian at all. Neal still wondered what Killian meant by that she looked broken and why he would understand such a thing.

"I'm going to the store, need anything?" he called over his shoulder to Killian who sat in the couch with his laptop.

"We're out of milk," Killian said without looking up.

"You don't even like milk," he said confused.

"But I do like chocolate milk, pancakes and waffles and to make those I need milk."

"Okay. See ya later," he said and opened the door.

"Bye," he heard Killian say before he closed the door behind him. He walked over to the elevator and pressed the down button. While he waited he heard a door open and close behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see Emma walk out of her apartment. The elevator doors opened and they both stepped inside. Emma seemed to avoid eye contact and grabbed her phone.

"Hey," he said, breaking the silence. When she didn't answer and kept looking at her phone he continued. "So I wanted to ask you something," he said a bit nervous and shuffled on his feet.

"What?" she asked a bit annoyed and put her phone away, looking up at him but not making eye contact.

"Would you like to go out with me?" he blurred out before he couldn't say it anymore.

"Oh," she said a bit surprised and looked down. "Neal, I uhm…. I really think you're a great guy but… I can't. Sorry."

The elevator doors opened and she walked out before he could ask her why not. He walked out of the building and headed to the store, completely lost in thoughts. Why would she say no? Does she have a boyfriend? Did he do something wrong? He slumbered in a bit but he wasn't going to give up that easily. He was going to fight for her and win her heart.

* * *

"I'm back," he called through the apartment.

"Took you a while. What movies should we watch tonight?" Killian asked while Neal but the groceries in the kitchen.

"I'm not really in the mood for a movie night."

Killian turned to him and raised an questioning brow. "Something wrong?" he asked.

Neal shrugged. "I asked Emma out but she said no."

"Did she say why?"

He shook his head and walked over to the couch, sitting down next to his friend. "She just said I was a great guy but she 'can't'."

"She 'can't'?"

"She didn't say anything else." Killian nodded and got up from his spot on the couch, walking over to the door. "Where are you going?" he asked Killian.

"I'm going to ask Emma why she 'can't'."

* * *

Emma closed the door to her apartment and kicked off her shoes. Neal had asked her out this and she really didn't want to turn him down, but… she just couldn't do it. Neal was great and she was sure he would be a sweet boyfriend but she wasn't ready. Honestly, she doubted that she would ever be ready. She was just too scared and broken to open up again. Everyone left her, even her last boyfriend who told her he never would. He just kicked her out one night when she discovered he was cheating on her because 'she wasn't enough'. And she never would be to anyone. Not to her parents who abandoned her on the side of the rode, not to her friends who she didn't have but always wanted and not to her now ex-boyfriend.

A knock on her door snapped her out of her thought. She turned back around and opened it, surprised to see Killian standing before her with a not so friendly expression on his face.

"Why 'can't' you go out with Neal?" he asked.

"Why do you want to know?" she asked more confident then she felt. He locked his eyes with hers and she could look away from his blue eyes.

"Because he is my best friend and he deserves to know why you said no." When Emma didn't say anything, because really, what should she say? He wouldn't understand. He sighed and took a step forward, his eyes softened a bit. "Look, I can see that something is bothering you and that you feel a bit lost-"

"What?" How the hell did he figured that out. "How would you know what I think and feel?" she snapped at him.

"I can see it," he said, "You're something like an open book to me, love."

She stared at his eyes, searching for… she didn't know what. She looked away and he continued talking.

"Like I was saying, Neal deserves to know why you turned him down," this time he said it more gentle than before.

She sighed. "I just broke up with my boyfriend and I'm just not looking for anything right now." This was the moment when he should walk away, say she wasn't worth the trouble and move on. But he didn't. When she looked him in the eyes again she saw understanding, which surprised her.

"Can we than just be friend?" he asked her hopeful and she bit her lip before nodding. "Then as a friend, would you like to join us for a movie night?"

"Uh… I don't know…"

"Come on, it would be fun. You can pick the first movie." He smiled at her and she returned it. Maybe she wasn't ready for another boyfriend but the idea of having friends wasn't that bad. She knew that they wouldn't last long if they got to know her so she didn't got her hopes up to high, but it was a step forward. She moved here for a new start so maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

"Sure, why not."

* * *

"And?" Neal asked from the couch when Killian entered their apartment.

"I asked her to join us tonight for movie night and she said yes."

"What?!" Neal jumped to his feet and stared at Killian with disbelief.

"Oh, and she said she was recovering from a bad breakup so that's why she said no," Killian said as he walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. "I asked her if we could just be friends and she was okay with that. She'll come around 6 pm."

"So, the whole week she has been avoiding us and now she's joining movie night?"

Killian looked up from the fridge and nodded, "Pretty much." He closed the fridge again when he didn't find something and searched through the cupboards. "Oh, and before I forget, she's paying for the food because we bought her pizza last week. Don't try to argue with her about it."

"Okay… I'm a little confused here."

Killian sighed. "Listen, if you still want to go out with her give some time and space. Be her friend and when she is ready she'll come to you."

"Fine," Neal said with a sigh, then looked back at Killian and raised his brow. "What are you doing?"

"Checking if we have everything for hot chocolate."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Emma likes hot chocolate," he said like it was obvious.

"How do you know?"

"Smelled it in her apartment," he closed the last cupboard and turned toward Neal. "Do we have cinnamon?"

"Uhh… I don't think so."

Killian nodded and grabbed his jacked. "I'm going to the store."

"I just got back from there!" Neal said in disbelieve. What the hell was wrong with Killian, he was acting really weird.

"But you didn't bring cinnamon." He was about to leave but Neal stopped him by closing the door again. "What are you doing?"

"You're acting strange," Neal said and crossed his arms, lifting his chin. "Is there something going on between you and Emma?"

"What? No!" Killian protested. "I'm doing this for you, mate. If tonight goes well she'll come around more often which means you can see her more often and maybe she'll fall for you."

Neal thought over his words and nodded. "Thanks man, you always look out for me."

"That's why we're best mates," Killian said and they fist-bumped before he walked out the door. He walked out of the building and towards the store. On his way he thought how he could make Emma enjoy this evening. He checked if they had hot chocolate, just in case she wanted some, and the smell of cinnamon in her apartment suggested that she likes that too. Maybe he could get some cinnamon rolls too. In the store he stopped before the spices. He looked through them, searching for the cinnamon. He wondered while he searched what had happened to her that made her so scared. Still, he felt their connection, there was something in her eyes he recognized in his own and being close to her made him somehow feel like he could do more, be more.

But it didn't matter, they were just friends and he would help Neal to get her to like him. His best friend deserves to be happy, to have a happy ending. It wasn't like Emma would choose him anyway, if she had to. He was nothing special. It was a miracle he had a friend like Neal in the first place. Everyone had left him, everyone but Neal and he was grateful for that. He didn't think he would have survived without him. He wanted to be that friend for Emma, he knew like no one else how hard it is to do everything on your own and how much it helped if there was someone at your side.

Sometimes he was afraid Neal would leave him after all. The chance was that Neal would leave him if he had Emma was a big one, but he couldn't be selfish. His best friend deserved happiness even if it is at the expense of losing his only friend. And Emma deserved it too. He may not know her that long but he knew enough to know she had a rough past. He admired how strong she was, how she had survived without anyone. Yes, he knew she didn't have anyone, because of the way hope shone in her eyes when he asked her if they could be friend. And if she had parents that loved her she would be this broken, that's how he knew.

He got the cinnamon and on his way to the cash register he grabbed a box with frozen cinnamon rolls. While waiting in line he saw a couple not too far from him. The corner of his lips tugged up a little, they looked so happy with each other. His smile faded when he realized he would probably never have that. _Maybe Emma would look at you that way._ He shoot the thought out of his head. He could never have her, she would never want him if she knew him, the real him. She was better off with Neal.

* * *

Exactly at 6 pm there was a knock on the door. Neal jumped up from the couch to open the door. When he opened the door he took a moment to look her up and down. She was wearing an oversized sweater, yoga pants and her hair was flowing loosely around her shoulders. In her hands were plastic bags with the logo of the Chinese restaurant across from here.

"Hey," he said and she smiled at him.

"Hi," she said and ducked her head. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, yeah. Come in," he moved out of the way and she walked inside.

"Good evening, Swan," Killian said and motioned to the coffee table so she could place the plastic bags on it. "With what movie are we starting?" he asked her.

"Isn't it my turn to choose the first movie?" He asked Killian confused.

"I kind of promised that Emma could pick the first one," he said while scratching behind his ear.

"It's okay, you can choose," Emma said a bit shyly as she sat down next to Killian.

"No, no, it's okay." He sat down next to her and smirked at her. "Which movie are we starting this evening with?"

"Uhm… is _The Princess Bride_ okay?"

"Of course," Killian said before he could say anything. He wanted to roll his eyes, he ever liked that movie. "And what did you bring for dinner?"

Emma moved forward and got everything out of the plastic bags, and said, "I didn't know what you guys liked so I just got a bit of everything." He got up and walked to the kitchen to grab three plates. Killian started the movie and they ate while watching. Neal felt himself dose off a little halfway through, so to stay awake he put his plate on the small table and got up, walking over to the kitchen to grab something to drink.

"You guys want somethi-"

"Sssshhh!" both Killian and Emma shushed as they watched the movie. He grabbed a beer for himself and sat back down on his spot with a sigh. At the end of the movie he was almost asleep but Killian voice woke him up again.

"Better then I remembered," he said and looked over at Emma.

"You really like this movie?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

She shrugged and turned to him. "What did you think?"

"Uh… yeah, it was… great," he said and tried to sound convincing. She nodded but didn't seem to believe him.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" she said and leaned over to the coffee table to grab three cookies. She gave them both one and kept one herself. "Fortune cookies!"

They opened their cookie and she read hers first:

 _Be open for new chances that could bring you happiness._

Then he read his:

 _Friendship is more importuned than anything else._

And as last Killian read his:

 _Your friends happiness is important, but don't forget your own._

Emma hummed in approval and ate her cookie, "I always like the cookie itself more than the 'fortune' it gave me." He chuckled and ate his own.

"Which movie is next?" Killian asked him.

"What do you think of a good horror movie?" he suggested and Emma's smile faded.

"Sure," she said a bit hesitating and looked down at her hands, fumbling with her too big sleeves.

"You don't have to be scared," he said a bit teasingly. "I will protect you."

"I'm not scared and I don't need protection," she said and straitened her back and turned to Killian. "put on the scariest you know."

"You sure?" Killian asked her serious.

"Yep."

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you all for reading! for the ones who asked if this was a CS or a SF story, you just have to wait and see I guess ;) please leave a review with your thought about the story!**


	4. Chapter 4

Maybe it was a bad idea to agree with a horror movie. The first one wasn't that scary but the lights were on when they watched it and both Killian and Neal were awake. Now however were the lights out, completely dark and Neal was snoring on her right while Killian was fighting sleep. Emma herself was curled up in a blanket, half hiding her face while she kept watching, wide awake. She screamed and hid her face in her blanket when a monster jump scared her and both Killian and Neal woke with a start.

"What? What is it?" Neal asked looking around before noticing the movie was still playing. "Oh, never mind. Are you okay?" He yawned and stretched. She didn't answer or move and kept her eyes closed tightly.

"Emma?" Killian said softly and placed his hand on her back which was surprisingly soothing. She relax a bit and heard someone pause the movie. Taking a few deep breaths she looked up from her blanket. "Hey, it's just a movie, you're safe here." Killian smiled at her, beginning to stroke her back and she nodded.

"Sorry I woke you," she said quietly.

"It's okay," Neal reinsured her. "If you didn't want to see a horror movie you could have just told us."

"I didn't want to ruin your movie night by not wanting to watch what you like to watch," she said while she looked down at her hands.

"We invited you," Killian reminded her. "you are here to enjoy this as much as we are."

She nodded. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"There is no need to thank us," Killian said and stood up, walking to the kitchen. "Would you like some hot chocolate?"

"Do you have whip cream?"

"Who doesn't have whip cream?"

She laughed a bit and turned to face Neal. "So, how long have you guys lived here?" she asked, trying to distract herself from scary thoughts that are flowing through her mind because of the movie.

"Uhm… five, maybe six years," he said with a shrug.

"Wow, that's pretty long. I never stayed longer than two years in one place."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "Just never felt at home anywhere."

"You know when you know where home is?" she shook her head. "Home is the place you miss when you're not there."

She nodded and bit her bottom lip. Killian came walking in with a tray with 3 mugs. He placed them on the coffee table and handed her one. She smelled it and looked surprised up at him.

"Cinnamon?"

"Aye, do you like it?"

"Yeah, it's my favourite." She took a sip and hummed in approval when she felt the warm liquid flow threw her throat and closed her eyes.

"You got some whip cream on your nose," Neal said and she opened her eyes again to see him grinning. She wiped it away with her sleeve while placing her mug on the table and felt cheeks warm up.

"Do I have any on my face?" Killian asked and she turned her head to look at him. She laughed when she saw he had dipped his face in the whip cream and had it now all over his face. Neal also laughed.

"No man, I think you're good," he said.

"You sure? Still handsome?"

"Still handsome," Emma giggled and felt her cheeks warm up again after she realised what she just said. He scooped up a bit of whip cream from his mug, smearing it on her face and laughed.

"Now you're handsome too."

Her belly hurt from the laughter, she couldn't remember a time she laughed like this.

"You look ridiculous," Neal laughed and Emma turned to look at him.

"No, we look handsome," she scooped a bit of whip cream with her fingers and moved closer to him, glancing behind her she saw Killian do the same. "Don't worry, you can be handsome too."

"Wait, no no no no no n- " Emma and Killian launched to him and smeared the whip cream on their hands on his face. He tried to stop them but only got free when they both moved back, laughing like idiots. "I hate you."

"No you don't," Killian said and sat back on the couch. Neal got up, trying to look irritated but the amusement was clear in his eyes and walked to the kitchen, grabbing a towel. After cleaning his face he threw it their way so they could clean their faces too.

Emma looked at the clock and noticed that is was already 5 minutes past midnight. "I should probably go back to my apartment."

"No you should not," Neal said and she looked up at him, her eyebrows raised. "Movie night includes falling asleep while watching a movie, if you don't fall asleep then you don't get to sleep. As long as one person is still awake the movies play."

"That's ridiculous."

"To bad." He smiled at her and she returned it. "So, what movie would you like to see next?"

"Can I choose again?"

"Of course, love. We don't want you to have a good time here," Killian said.

"Why?"

"Why must there be a special reason?" Killian raised an brow.

"Why can we not just enjoy your company?" Neal sat down next to her again and she look at both of them in disbelieve. They really wanted her here with them to just hang out, watch movies and just stuff like friends do. Like friends. They wanted to be her friends. A smile grew on her face and tears stung at the back of her eyes. She put an arm around both of them and pulled them in a hug. She felt their arms come around her and she laughed.

"Thank you," she whispered and felt their arms tighten around her. She had friends.

* * *

The next morning Emma awoke by the smell of pancakes. She lazily rubbed her eyes and yawned as she sat up. She looked over the back of the couch to see both Killian and Neal in the kitchen. Killian was cooking pancakes while Neal was making something that looked like a fruit salad. She still wondered how these men could be real. If this was a dream she would never want to wake from it and if it wasn't… than she's just really lucky for once to have them as neighbours and friends.

She got up from the couch and walked over to them. "Good morning," she said and leaned against the wall behind her.

"Morning Emma."

"Morning Swan."

She liked it when they did that, say her full name like that. Although every time Killian says 'Swan' it send a small shiver down her spine, but she ignored it. "Can I help with something?"

"No, love, we're almost done," Killian said and winked at her.

"Okay." She walked back and sat down at the dinner table, watching them. A few minutes later they joined her and set a plate with warm pancakes and a bowl with fresh fruits before her. "This smells delicious."

"It tastes even better," said Neal and put a fork full of pancake in his mouth. "Killian makes the best."

"The best, hu?" she looks at him with a tilted head and he smiles sheepishly. "I'll decide that." She took a bite from her pancake and her eyes widened. "Wow, these are really good. Like _really_ really good."

"Well thank you, love."

They talk a little more and Emma helps them clean up, even after they protested. They spend the morning lazily watching TV and talking about everything and nothing. Emma never got to do this when she was younger and she was enjoying every second of it.

"So Emma," Neal started. "Next week is a funfair where Killian and I are going to, want to join us?"

"Oh, uhm… I don't know…"

"Please Swan," Killian pouted and she couldn't say no to the puppy eyes he put on. _Stupid puppy eyes_.

She sighed. "Fine, I'll come. When is it exactly?"

"Friday afternoon, we'll pick you up between one and two."

"Okay." She smiled to herself. This was a dream, it couldn't be real. Maybe she shouldn't get so comfortable, it would make moving when something goes wrong a lot harder. She mentally shook her head, now was not the time to think about that. Right now she was enjoying her time with her friends. Normally she had a feeling she should run far away from people who wanted to be friends with her so that they couldn't hurt her but she didn't get the feeling right now. All she felt right now was that they saw her and that she wasn't alone for once.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you all for reading! I'm sorry that this chapter isn't that long. Please leave a review with your thought and check out my other stories! also don't forget to check out eleven19 version of this story called: 'We Good, Bro?'**


	5. Chapter 5

Emma left her apartment and saw Neal do the same. "Hey Neal, how's it going?" she greeted him.

"Hey Emma," he said as they walked to the elevator. "It's going great. I'm really looking forward to the funfair now that you're joining us."

"Me too." The elevator doors closed. "It will be my first time to a funfair."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she shrugged. "Never really got the opportunity to go before."

"Well, than I'm honoured to be part of your first funfair experience." He gave her a sweet smile which she returned. "So where are you going?" he asked her.

"My work," she answered.

"What do you do for work?" he asked curiously.

"I'm a bail bondsperson," she said proud. "I got a call this morning that a new case is waiting for me at the office."

"Wow. Isn't that dangerous?" The elevator doors opened and they walked out.

She shrugged. "Sometimes. But I've been doing this for three maybe four years now. I'm a big girl." They stopped when they got to Emma's car. "Where are you going?" she asked and tilted her head.

He pointed behind him. "Oh, just the store. Need to get somethings."

Emma opened the door of her car and stepped in. "Could you do me a favour and get me something from the store?"

"Sure. What do you need?"

"I'm all out of cocoa powder."

"Alright. When you come back you can pick it up at our apartment."

She nodded. "Thanks." She smiled at him before closing her car door and driving away. Neal was so sweet. Somehow talking to him was easy and he was a good listener. Maybe she should have said yes when he asked her out… She shook her head. No, she wasn't ready to date yet. He was her friend now anyway and a friend was all she needed.

* * *

Time flew by and before Emma knew it, it was Friday. She was still brushing her hair when she heard someone knock on her door. She let out a sound of frustration when the brush got stuck in a not in her hair. The person behind the door knocked again and she gave up. Still with the brush in her hair she opened the door and was greeted by a brightly smiling Killian and Neal.

"Hello Swan," Killian said and pointed at the brush in her hair. "you got something in your hair."

"I know, I'm almost done," she said and walked into her apartment, leaving the door open so they could enter. "give me two minutes and I'll be ready."

"Okay," both Killian and Neal said while she walked back into her bedroom, closing the door behind her. After she got the brush out of her hair she braided it back and grabbed her leather jacket. Even though she wouldn't admit it she was really excited and had been looking forward to today. Not just because she won't be sitting on the couch alone watching Netflix but also because she never been to a funfair and she wondered what it was like.

She walked out of her bedroom. "Ready?" Neal asked and she nodded her head.

"Well, let's go then," Killian said, doing nothing to hide his excitement and opened the door for them with a small bow. "Lady's first," he smirked.

"Why thank you," she said and lifted her chin while walking through the door. When they were out of her apartment she locked the door and they took the elevator down. They got into Neal's car and he drove them to the funfair. They sat in comfortable silence with the radio on.

Once they got there Killian was bursting with excitement as they entered. He turned to her with a stupid grin on his face. "So, Swan, what do you want to do first?"

Emma shrugged. "I don't really care."

"Come on, Emma, this should also be fun for you," Neal said, also grinning.

Emma sighed and looked around her. Her eyes landed on the carousel with the flying chairs. She smiled and pointed at it. "Let's go in there."

"If the lady wishes so," Killian smirked and gestured for her to lead the way. The three of them got in line that luckily wasn't that long so after waiting less than three minutes they got into their seat and waited for the attraction to start. Neal sat before and her Killian behind her. Neal turned around in his chair and kicked hers.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Are you?" she said with a bit of teasing in her voice.

"I don't know, these things could go pretty high," he said and nodded while looking down even though they were still on the ground before looked back at her with a teasing smile.

She let out a small laugh and the chairs started to move. Slowly they rose from the ground the harder the little chairs were swung through the air. Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the cold wind that rushed past her cheeks and the feeling of weightlessness. All her worries seemed to be swung off of her shoulders as she let herself enjoy this moment. For a moment she really thought that she was flying.

When she opened her eyes again she looked behind her, seeing Killian still grinning at her with his boyish grin. She couldn't help but smile at him. She turned her head forward again and saw Neal looking back at her, also smiling at her and she smiled back.

Emma made de decision than at that moment to not think about anything else but her two friends and their fun day.

* * *

The sun was slowly setting and the three of them started walking toward the exit. Emma held a bit fluffy tiger and Killian and Neal both held a small panda and a lion. They wanted to win a stuffed animal for her at one of the play stalls but then she said she also wanted to try and, well, she won the biggest stuffed animal they had.

"Neal, Swan, wait," Killian called and both Neal and Emma turned to him. "Let's take a photo." He pointed at a photo stall.

"Sure, why not," she said and followed him to the stall, Neal also following.

"We're never going to fit in that thing," Neal commented when he noticed how small the sitting space was.

"Of course we can." Killian grabbed both their wrist and tugged them inside. Eventually they were inside, very cramped though. Emma was half sitting on both their laps and was very glad she dropped her stuffed tiger when Killian dragged her inside. He put some coins into the machine. "Smile."

They all smiled as the photo was taken. "Now one with funny faces," Neal said and they all made a funny face.

"Now a very serious one," Emma piped in. They took a few more photo's with weird and funny faces. Just when the last photo was about to be shot Neal and Killian shared a look before both kissing Emma's cheek. Emma of course was more than a bit surprised and a blush made its way up her face.

They got out of the little stall and took the photo strip. They laughed at their faces and especially at Emma's face when they kissed her cheeks. Emma just laughed with them and ducked her head a little.

"Take it," Neal said and gesturing for Emma to take the photo strip.

"You sure," she asked, looking between both of them. "don't you guys want it?"

"We'll be honoured to hang on your fridge," Killian said with a smile.

"Plus, we have dozens of these from the times before, Killy here really likes making photos like these," Neal told her and Emma smiled thankfully at them while taking the strip.

"Thank you," she said quietly, feeling tears pricking her eyes. No one had ever done such a thing for her. Taking her here was already a big thing and now they told her she could keep the photo strip with the three of them. For anyone else it was just a small thing but for her it meant the world.

Neal grabbed her stuffed tiger. "Come on, let's get something to eat."

"You coming, love?" Killian asked, gently placing his hand on her back.

She looked up from the photos at them. "Yeah, I'm starving."

First they dropped of Emma's stuffed tiger and their smaller stuffed panda and lion before they went to Granny's. It wasn't a very fancy restaurant but it was a cosy and the owner reminded her of a typical grandmother.

"So this is your go to place?" she asked Neal and Killian when they sat down in one of the booths, both of them across from her.

"Absolutely," Killian said.

"It surprises you how good the food here is," Neal said.

"You should try the lasagne," said a voice from beside them. "You must be new here, I've never seen you before." Emma looked up at the woman who was looking her up and down. "Was about time these two got a girlfriend, who's yours?"

"Oh, no, they… I'm not…" Emma stuttered and the felt her face turn red.

"Ruby," Neal said and gave her a pointy look. "We're just friends."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ruby said with an apologising smile. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"Maybe you should just take our orders like you're meant to do," Killian said with a raised eyebrow.

"I was about to get to that," she said pointedly at him before turning back to Emma and smiling again. "What can I get you?"

"Uhm… a grilled cheese with union rings?"

"Cheese and rings," Ruby muttered while she scribbled it down on her notepad before looking back at the two guys across from Emma. "the usual?"

"Yes please," Neal said and Ruby scribbled that down as well.

"Be back in a sec," Ruby said with a smile and walked back to the kitchen.

"So," Neal started, grabbing both Killian and Emma's attention. "How was today?"

"It was great, I can't remember the last time I had so much fun," Emma smiled at them. "Thank you."

Killian waved his hand. "You don't have to thank us."

"Just know that you are always welcome to join us," Neal said. They talked a bit more about the day until Ruby came with their food.

"One grilled cheese with union rings," Ruby said and placed the plate before Emma. "Hamburger with extra fries and no pickles," she placed the plate before Neal. "And a club sandwich," she said as last, placing that plate before Killian. "Enjoy."

They started eating in a comfortable silence. When Killian's fries were all eaten he stole one of Neal's fries and Neal slapped his hand.

"Hey, that hurts," Killian said like a child.

"Then don't steal my fries," Neal said back.

"But I don't have any anymore."

"That's not my fault."

While they were arguing Emma quickly grabbed all Neal's fries from his plate, placing them on hers. She started munching on one while watching them argue in amusement. When they finally seemed to be done and Neal looked at his plate Emma had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing at his dumbstruck face. Killian grinned at her when he noticed what she had done.

"Nice work, love," he said. He gave her a high-five and took one of the fries.

"You two are really mean, you know that?" Neal said, sitting back and crossing his arms.

"Now that you say it," Killian raised his eyebrow at Emma. "You and I make quite the team, Swan."

"Guess we do," Emma said with a smug smile.

After they finished dinner and spend at least 20 minutes arguing about who was going to pay since Emma at least wanted to pay her own if not all of their meals they walked out of Granny's and hopped into Neal's car again. The short drive back to their apartment building was silent because they for one didn't have anything to say really and they were all tired from the day's activity.

Killian and Neal walked Emma to her apartment. Emma unlocked her door and turned to them before she entered.

"Again, thank you guys for today," she said and fumbled with her keys.

"It was our pleasure," Killian said with a sweet smile.

"Want to join us for breakfast tomorrow?" Neal offered.

Emma bit her lip. "Where exactly?"

"Just out apartment."

"I'll make my delicious pancakes again," Killian smirked.

Emma laughed softly. "Well, I can't say no to your pancakes now can I?"

"Great," Neal said. He looked like he wanted to say more but apparently thought better of it. "Goodnight Emma."

"Goodnight Swan."

"Goodnight guys," she said and entered the apartment. She closed the door behind her and smiled to herself. Walking over to the kitchen she grabbed the photo strip and a magnet, pinning it to the fridge. She looked one last time at the photos before changing into her pyjama's, grabbing her laptop and stuffed tiger and sitting down comfortably in her bed. She opened Netflix and put on a new episode of her favourite show she had missed while absently stroking her tiger.

She really tried to focus on the show but every time her mind kept drifting off to the funfair and the two guys who took her.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry it took so long to update but here it is! I was kind of busy with school and my other story 'Cursed Them All' so I didn't have much time, plus the writers block didn't help either.**

 **let me know what you guys think and be sure to check out my other stories too. ;)**


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